Tag Archives: Family Therapy

The term ‘talking therapy’ refers not to one specific therapy but to a category of therapies. As the phrase strongly implies, ‘talking therapies’ involve a client talking to a therapist with the aim of ameliorating their particular psychological difficulty (e.g. depression, anger, addiction, eating disorders, phobias, childhood trauma, relationship problems and family problems). Studies show that in many cases ‘talking therapies’ can be at least as effective, and, frequently, more effective, than medications for the treatment of a wide range of psychological problems.

Examples Of ‘Talking Therapies’:

As stated above, there are a variety of ‘talking therapies’ from which to choose. These include the following :

cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

counselling

psychodynamic psychotherapy

behavioral activation

mindfulness-based therapies

family therapy

interpersonal therapy

dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)

(NB The above list is not exhaustive).

Let’s briefly look at each of these eight examples of ‘talking therapy’ in turn :

Cognitive behavioral therapy :

This type of therapy is currently widely used to help individuals with psychological difficulties and is evidence-based (i.e. supported by empirical research findings). It is a short-term therapy within which the therapist and client work together to help the client identify dysfunctional behaviors and thinking processes that may be contributing to his/her problems and then to change these behaviors and thinking processes into more helpful ones.

Counselling involves the client talking to a trained therapist about emotions and feelings ; the therapist will listen to the client in a non-judgmental and non-critical manner.

Usually, the therapist does not provide direct advice to the client but, instead, aims to facilitate the client’s insight into, and understanding of, his/her own thinking patterns and, also, to help him/her discover his/her own solutions to his/her problems.

Counselling has traditionally been a face-to-face activity but is now becoming increasingly available online.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy :

This type of therapy aims to discover, and make the client aware of, how his/her (previously) unconscious mental processes, strongly influenced by early life experiences, have, historically, adversely affected his/her behavior.

This therapy is used for the treatment of depression and, encouragingly, has been found to have a good rate of success (even, more encouragingly still, in the case of those suffering from depression who have not responded well to other therapeutic interventions – i.e. those who were previously found to be ‘treatment resistant’).

It is often used in conjunction with CBT (see above) or other therapies and, in particular, can help clients who are isolated and ‘avoidant.‘

Mindfulness-based therapies have the goal of helping the client to become aware of his/her feelings, thoughts and experiences in the present moment and to accept these, as a kind of disinterestedobserver, without judging them . Once the client, with practice, starts to master this skill (which takes time), s/he should experience significantly less distress, or, even, in the ideal case, serene equanimity, when unwanted thoughts and feelings arise in his/her mind.

This form of therapy aims to help individuals who have interpersonal problems (i.e. find it hard to form and maintain relationships with others). The effectiveness of this kind of therapy is supported by empirical evidence.

How Does Family Therapy Help?

The aim of family therapy is to educate all its relevant members about :

how family dynamics influence and maintain the behaviors of individuals within it

communication within the family

how adaptive (desirable) behaviors can be reinforced

ways in which the family can collaborate (work together) to solve problems within the family

It is often the case that, prior to such therapeutic intervention, the adolescent, due to his/her ‘acting out‘, was seen (by the other members of the family) as the source of the family problems but, as the therapy sessions unfold, it becomes apparent that, in fact, the collective dysfunction of the whole family is at the root of the issue.

It is also not infrequently the case that through the process of family therapy it is revealed that other members of the family, too, have serious psychological conditions which need addressing (e.g. many adolescent sufferers of BPD will have a parent with the same condition or a similar personality disorder such as narcissistic personality disorder). When this found to be the case, such parents can also be helped (assuming they are willing) by the therapist which can, in turn, help them to relate to their family in a healthier way, hopefully culminating in a less dysfunctional relationship between them and their adolescent child.

Another very important aspect of family therapy is the therapist’s close observation of non-verbal communication between the parents and the adolescent (e.g. body language, facial expressions, intonation etc). By carrying out such observations, the therapist can point out to the family when such non-verbal signals may be less than helpful.

Family therapy can also include group training in parenting skills which can provide parents with :